On the next day, the crowd which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. Other small boats came from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus. And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”
John 6:22-40
Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, set His seal.” Therefore they said to Him, “What should we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses has not given you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is [i]that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. Now this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
Introduction
Following Jesus’ miraculous transportation of Himself and the disciples to Capernaum, the crowd which the Lord fed followed them. John is careful to point out this was the same crowd from Tiberias. That is important to the context of what follows. Because when they look on Jesus, perplexed at how He traveled across the sea, He calls them out on their true motives: material ones.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” The Lord confirms their motives for wanting to make Him king. They have little interest in what He teaches, but all the interest in fulfilling their desires for independence and prosperity. They want Jesus to be the chosen King to lead them into a new earth (Isaiah 65) where their enemies are defeated and they have no want or need. They do not desire righteousness, but instead desire prosperity. Jesus gives them an entirely different understanding of the mission of the Messiah.
Full bellies, empty hearts
In response to to Jesus, the people demand another sign. They said that Moses gave their ancestors a bread that came down from heaven daily, where the only work that needed to be done was gathering that bread. They are longing for the “good old days” of wandering in the wilderness. Life in the promised land is hard. All this in spite of the fact that Jesus just fed them by multiplying a few loaves and fish.
How often are our prayers for the immediate rather than the distant? How many times does God need to demonstrate His love for us before we believe Him? The people who followed after Jesus did not do so because He held the key to life. They did it because they thought He was their ticket to easy street. They thought the hard work of life could be replaced by listening and eating, just like at Tiberias.
But this life is full of trouble and strife. It is that way because of the Fall, and no earthly messiah can change that. No windfall or political victory will rectify the problem that exists within the human heart: we are sinners through and through. We deny God for who He is, and the only thing earthly prosperity will do for the wayward heart is mask the desperate need we have for a savior.
The will of My Father
The people wanted bread for their bellies but not bread for their souls. Jesus responds to them by saying, “I am the bread of life.” Like with the Samaritan woman at the well, the Lord analogizes Himself to a physical life-giving substance. He is the water which springs up, and the bread which satisfies. There are many who try to make this passage about the Lord’s Supper (also called the Eucharist), but this teaching was given before the institution was made. Rather than talking about a future ordinance, this is a teaching on the nature of faith in Christ.
The bread that came from heaven in the wilderness was a free gift from heaven. Nothing the people did earned it, and nothing they could do would stop it. God gave it to them out of His own goodness and charity. Jesus likens Himself to the manna in this way. He came freely and willingly into this world to free His people from the devastation of death.
A people who had already rejected Him were the very people He came to save. He tells us this is all the will of the Father whose intention from the beginning was to redeem a people for Himself. And the most comforting part of this is that those who truly believe were already hand-picked by the Father. They cannot fall away. Anyone who does fall away without ever repenting never truly believed to begin with. Those who fall away but return were always going to return. He has us safely in His hand, and nothing we do can possibly loosen His grasp.
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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